All this—particularly the depiction of Sondhi’s character as the arch villain in this fairy-tale—has caused a controversy. Sondhi, 69, says the pain this has caused him would always remain, stressing that certain elements of Dangal’s storyline “didn’t exist at all” in real life. Quite strangely, Sondhi himself hasn’t seen the film yet, and has based his reaction on what others have told him about his character, as portrayed in it. “The character of the coach in the film is shown in a negative way. Is baat ka mujhe puri umar dukh rahega (this will pain me for the rest of my life). Aur baki coaches ko bhi dukh hai (other coaches are also disappointed). People who know me and have seen the film in England, Canada or America are also disappointed about how my character is portrayed,” Sondhi tells Outlook. “Aamir Khan told me that since it was a biopic, ‘we’ve put some mirch-masala’ in the film,” Sondhi says about his conversation with the actor-producer. “It’s okay that he has made the film on the father of Geeta. I also encourage women empowerment, which is the theme of the film and which is apparently well portrayed.”